Gnosis of the Witch is a United States black metal band that are pretty new to the scene, having formed in 2013. They play a usually very fast paced black metal, with a lot less experimentation than usually heard in the USBM scene. Despite being a young band, they have shown that they have some serious skill and potential.

The intro track, Ek Bjóða Inn is an ambient, almost industrial piece that really does nothing to grab me. In a short EP like this, I would prefer it be left out, or at least shortened. It can work as a good intro piece, but should not be more than a minute or so in length. The rest of the album though is pretty solid, and mostly fast paced. The songs are not long, but the band packs a lot in. The guitars tend to be sharp, and bright, while maintaining a fast speed. The slower passages usually include some keyboards mixed in, adding some atmosphere to the music, but never making it feel or sound hollow or loosing any intensity. The vocals are entirely snarled/screamed, and sound strong, but can be a little low in the mix, and difficult to make out at times. The drumming is mid tempo to fast paced on the record, and has a fairly thin sound a lot of the time, which makes the songs lose some punch. Same goes with the bass, which feels thin, and makes the focus on the album be on the keys, guitar and vocals.

The album does not feature much variety, which is not a bad thing, but with only four tracks (one of which is the ambient intro) there really isn't too much to dig into here. The songs follow a similar pattern, and at times are hard to distinguish between one another. However, there are some solid moments on here, and the last two tracks are certainly the better half of the EP. I do think the band has something though, and I do feel that with some more time, this band could really be a stand out act sooner than later. If they can figure out their sound/mixing issues, that would be a big improvement. The EP is not bad by any means, but nothing to set the world on fire. I do suggest Black Metal fans take a little time to listen to this, as it does show a young band with quite a bit of potential. Feel free to check out a track (probably my personal favorite on the EP) Here.